A good summary. I'm a British expat living in the Moda district of Kadıköy. Most foreigners who come here comment on how much more relaxed it is here than the European side. Moda has a very diverse population both living here and visiting, and there's a good selection of restaurants offering international cuisine. Kadıköy is also renowned for being a liberal borough where religious dogma isn't usually foisted upon the inhabitants.
Thanks for sharing. We visited Kadiköy very briefly, but in that brief time we decided we definitely want to visit that neighborhood more extensively next time we're in Istanbul. Thanks again.
As a Malaysian,I've viewed your videos and feels refreshed with Yr amiable,polite and unbiased comments. So,its possible to live well and happy in Turkey. Keep up the Lively videos as they are a pleasure to watch.
Your ability to provide interesting and important relevant information in such an efficient manner is uncanny. I would tell anyone who is looking for a video guide for Istanbul to start here.
Great video - we felt much the same about Istanbul. Our biggest issue with Turkiye has been that finding import foods has been very, very difficult. For most people this likely would not be an issue, but our son has dietary constraints, and the some of the food he eats we have had no luck finding - even with going to the Macrocenter chain.
Yes, we know what you mean. Emily is sensitive to gluten and there are very few gluten free options here. Fortunately she discovered that the wheat here is somehow processed differently than in the US and she is actually able to eat regular bread products here. But yeah, we feel for those like Cole who have dietary restrictions. The Migros supermarket we go to has only like 10 or 15 products made for allergy accommodations.
Another excellent video! The tulips in Holland blew us away in April. I had no idea tulips were a thing in Istanbul! Hoping we might see them next spring.
Great video about Istanbul, the food looked especially good. Since arriving in Thailand I've been taking a page out of your playbook and writing down exactly how much we spend so we can get an idea of how much it's costing us to live and where most of it is being spent.
Happy 4th of July! Thank you for the video. I would like to visit Turkiye someday. As usual you share the kind of information that I want to know about a place. :-)
Thank you for your videos! I really enjoyed your malaysia series and as someone also looking for a home base btw east and west, was waiting for your review of Istanbul! Can you recommend a neighborhood to stay at for a month or so? I am thinking of visiting soon. Thank you 🙏
Thanks so much! We visited Istanbul twice, the first time we stayed near Kadırga Park and the second time we stayed in the Karaköy neighborhood. They were both good areas but also very touristy neighborhoods. I hope that helps!
Thanks for the suggestion! We looked into Portugal and connected with some expats living there to get more information about it. We think Portugal has a lot of positives and we are keeping it on our list of potential countries for the future.
I understand the benefits you listed out, but given that you are on a tight retirement budget (who isn't?) wouldn't the massive currency exchange fluctuations and inflation kill off Turkey for you given the uncertainty?
It seems (at least recently) that the higher the inflation gets here, the exchange rate also gets higher, so the stronger US dollar against the lira compensates for the high inflation. The official inflation rate over the past year is 73%, but the US dollar has strengthened 98% against the lira over the same period, more than making up for the inflation. But it's very volatile, and the rates can drop or jump very quickly. And you are right, there is a lot of uncertainty and things could be different in the future.
We chose Izmir, it's our favorite of the places in Turkey that we visited. But we are still doing a lot of traveling so we are gone from Izmir quite often. Thank for watching!
A good summary. I'm a British expat living in the Moda district of Kadıköy. Most foreigners who come here comment on how much more relaxed it is here than the European side. Moda has a very diverse population both living here and visiting, and there's a good selection of restaurants offering international cuisine. Kadıköy is also renowned for being a liberal borough where religious dogma isn't usually foisted upon the inhabitants.
Thanks for sharing. We visited Kadiköy very briefly, but in that brief time we decided we definitely want to visit that neighborhood more extensively next time we're in Istanbul. Thanks again.
As a Malaysian,I've viewed your videos and feels refreshed with Yr amiable,polite and unbiased comments. So,its possible to live well and happy in Turkey. Keep up the Lively videos as they are a pleasure to watch.
Thank you so much for this very nice comment!
Your ability to provide interesting and important relevant information in such an efficient manner is uncanny. I would tell anyone who is looking for a video guide for Istanbul to start here.
Thanks as always for your support!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful video n for your insights on Istanbul, Turkey.
Thanks Yasin!
@@snailtravelers 🙂
My favourite city !
We loved it too!
Tulips 🌷 in Turkey! Wow, that is interesting to know!
Yes indeed!
Great video - we felt much the same about Istanbul. Our biggest issue with Turkiye has been that finding import foods has been very, very difficult. For most people this likely would not be an issue, but our son has dietary constraints, and the some of the food he eats we have had no luck finding - even with going to the Macrocenter chain.
Yes, we know what you mean. Emily is sensitive to gluten and there are very few gluten free options here. Fortunately she discovered that the wheat here is somehow processed differently than in the US and she is actually able to eat regular bread products here. But yeah, we feel for those like Cole who have dietary restrictions. The Migros supermarket we go to has only like 10 or 15 products made for allergy accommodations.
Nice to see you travel again from Malaysia
Thank you very much!
Another excellent video! The tulips in Holland blew us away in April. I had no idea tulips were a thing in Istanbul! Hoping we might see them next spring.
Yes indeed. The tulips are fabulous!
The tulips flower are very beautiful. I like to watch Turkey drama too.
Yes, the tulips were amazing, one of the highlights of the city. Thanks for watching!
Great video about Istanbul, the food looked especially good. Since arriving in Thailand I've been taking a page out of your playbook and writing down exactly how much we spend so we can get an idea of how much it's costing us to live and where most of it is being spent.
Thanks so much! We are on a relatively tight budget and that's why we always track our spending.
Happy 4th of July! Thank you for the video. I would like to visit Turkiye someday. As usual you share the kind of information that I want to know about a place. :-)
Thanks so much for this nice comment!
Nice tips! Looking forward for more videos
Thank you!
i use to live in YediKule....
👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻👏🏻🇹🇷
Nice job!
Thank you for your videos! I really enjoyed your malaysia series and as someone also looking for a home base btw east and west, was waiting for your review of Istanbul! Can you recommend a neighborhood to stay at for a month or so? I am thinking of visiting soon. Thank you 🙏
Thanks so much! We visited Istanbul twice, the first time we stayed near Kadırga Park and the second time we stayed in the Karaköy neighborhood. They were both good areas but also very touristy neighborhoods. I hope that helps!
Do you plan to check Portugal? Seems like everyone is rushing there for affordable but quality life!
Thanks for the suggestion! We looked into Portugal and connected with some expats living there to get more information about it. We think Portugal has a lot of positives and we are keeping it on our list of potential countries for the future.
I understand the benefits you listed out, but given that you are on a tight retirement budget (who isn't?) wouldn't the massive currency exchange fluctuations and inflation kill off Turkey for you given the uncertainty?
It seems (at least recently) that the higher the inflation gets here, the exchange rate also gets higher, so the stronger US dollar against the lira compensates for the high inflation. The official inflation rate over the past year is 73%, but the US dollar has strengthened 98% against the lira over the same period, more than making up for the inflation. But it's very volatile, and the rates can drop or jump very quickly. And you are right, there is a lot of uncertainty and things could be different in the future.
Where did you end up settling in Turkey ?
We chose Izmir, it's our favorite of the places in Turkey that we visited. But we are still doing a lot of traveling so we are gone from Izmir quite often. Thank for watching!
Again... how bout delicious sushi?😂
😃😃
Hi couple, i envy you congrats, but did you have kids?
Thanks. We don't have children.
@@snailtravelers OK, thanks you for the quick reply, good luck
Smart move!
Now this country known as TURKIYE
No longer Turkey
Yes indeed! I'm not sure many people know about this, which is why I thought it was important to mention it in the video.